Police were treating Francisco Chavez's death as a homicide, Hayes said.

The other family member was critically burned and also was being treated at Loyola.

Police said they believed that the other family member, despondent over not being able to find a job, may have beaten the elderly couple before setting himself and Chavez on fire.

Officers were able to collect some statements from Guadalupe Chavez, but their suspicions rested mainly on evidence gathered at the scene, Hayes said. The family member suspected in the attack was not able to speak with police.

The Will County state's attorney's office was awaiting information on the case Friday evening and had not filed any charges.

About 10 p.m. Thursday, neighbors called firefighters and police to the first block of South Prairie Avenue to report an explosion and fire inside the bungalow where the three family members lived.

Police officers arrived to find all the doors and windows of the home locked, with the exception of a bedroom window that was blown out by the force of a blast.

Officers broke down a back door and found Guadalupe Chavez bleeding from the head on a living room couch.

They tried to enter the bedroom where Francisco Chavez and the other family member were, but the flames were too intense, Hayes said. Firefighters arrived moments later and found the two on fire.

Next-door neighbor Diane Holley heard the blast and saw flames erupt in the house just before 10 p.m., she said.

The explosion likely was caused by gasoline being ignited, police said.

Relatives of the Chavezes told officers that the family member had been despondent for months because he couldn't find work.